Why would I use online if we already offer in person tutoring?

We live in a technology driven world where almost anyone has access to a computer or smart device with access to the internet. Allowing tutors to have access to their own online tutoring room will not only aid the tutor but also be more convenient for students who live further from campus or are working while going to school. Online sessions would motivate students to sign up for tutoring or advising appointments and provide them with flexibility and convenience.

What do we need to make this happen?

In this newsletter I will be using ZOOM as the example. Please note that we are not affiliated with ZOOM or any of the other screenshare systems.  ZOOM is an online audio and visual platform used to communicate much like Skype, WebEX, and many others. This customization adds the online link for the consultant and give the student the ability to click the link from the student view.

Here are the Requirements:

1. Students must be able to log into the system with their campus credentials via Authentication.

2. Your Trac Systems URL will need to be available and accessible outside your campus network.

3. Your Trac system will need the latest updates - last 6 months.

To get the latest updates done we will need to schedule about two hours of down time within our office hours. Our hours of operation are Monday-Friday from 10am-7pmEST (daylight savings is Monday-Friday from 11am-8pmEST).

If you are HOSTED by Redrock the updates are super easy to take care of – all we need is to decide on a time.

If your schools is not hosted by Redrock then we will need to schedule a time that works for your users, IT and Redrock Tech. Next, we will need to work with your IT department who has admin access to the server the Trac Application is on. From there we will need to work via screenshare application that allows mouse and keyboard control. Once we are connected the Redrock Tech will apply the latest the updates and once completed, we will bring the system back online.

4. You will need a platform for audio and video conferencing such as Zoom, WebEx, Skype etc...

5. Consultants will need a designated static link assigned to their consultant profile in order for students to join the consultant’s online room.

6. Schedule a Training session to work with Redrock in order to implement the online feature at https://www.go-redrock.com/training/ .

How does this work?

When a Student books an appointment in one of the dedicated online centers, the Tutor's link will appear on the Student's main menu 15 minutes before the session starts.

The tutor will not get a link/button to join the session on their side or in email. The consultants/tutors/advisors will sign into their ZOOM account to join/start the session. From here the student can click the link to join the online session. When the Link is clicked, a Visit record is recorded for that student for the duration of the scheduled appointment. (ex. a half hour appointment time will result in a half hour Visit Record regardless of how long the Student and Tutor really meet.) Once in ZOOM, both tutors and students have various capabilities that enhance the quality of the tutoring session. Both parties can share their screen to view a worksheet posted online by the professor or a link from a search engine. They can even have a virtual discussion -not only by message but you are able to call into the ZOOM session and talk with the tutor.

More Questions?

We hope that you find this newsletter helpful and as always if you have any questions on this or any other features, please feel free to let us by emailing Helpdesk@go-redrock.com or submitting a ticket.  Enter any comments below.

Thank you for your continued support!

Top 5 Reasons to Attend the 2020 Redrock Conference!

It’s that time of the year to get ready for the Annual Redrock Conference. If you are thinking about attending, here are 5 reasons why you should grace us with your presence at the 2020 Annual Redrock Conference.

1) Ability to Network with other Users: The Redrock Conference provides the perfect environment to meet other Trac Users and share information about different ways the Trac System can be used. In addition to meeting other Users, we have Customers who will also be presenting on how the Trac System is used at their campus. Build a network of relationships that lasts well after the conference is over!

2) Meet the Redrock Team: Another benefit to the Redrock Conference is getting to meet the Redrock Staff. We are here to support you and want to make sure that you walk away with all of the knowledge that you need to better utilize your Trac System. At the end of the conference you will also have the ability to schedule 1-on-1 time with a Redrock Employee, to sit down and answer any and all questions that you have.

3) Taking a look at TracCloud: The next version of the Trac System is here and we are very excited to give a full demo of TracCloud. With more features than ever, this is definitely a reason to NOT miss this conference!

4) Enjoy the Weather: With beautiful sunny skies and temperatures in the high 80’s this is definitely an advantage to coming to the conference. Come enjoy the perfect weather and stunning Arizona sunsets!

5) Build your Knowledge: Finally, the last reason to come to the conference is to build your own knowledge of the Trac System. We know the importance of tracking, reporting and analyzing student data and the Trac System is the perfect tool for this. However, with any tool it is only beneficial if you are trained on how to use it. Our main goal is to make sure that you leave with all your questions answered and a game plan for success (and maybe a little bit more tan!)

For more information on costs, hotels and registration, check out our website at https://www.go-redrock.com/conference/ or let us know if you have any questions. We look forward to seeing you there!

Hello Redrock Customers!

We are excited for the new academic year and want to help you prepare your Trac application for the new semester, with this week's Newsletter.

You’ll find that it is filled with new information, helpful hints and tips, and even some new feature that you can explore.  
We want this newsletter to be valuable for you so please, share your feedback and as always please let us know if you have any questions.


To access the Newsletter, go to the following link:

http://wiki.go-redrock.com/wiki/Preparing_for_a_Successful_Semester_Switch


Hope you are enjoying the newsletters and Wiki content that has been updated this summer!

We are already working and planning for next year’s conference which will be April 1st through the 4th, 2020.  

Watch for new and exciting changes coming in the near future. Thank you!

Preparing for a Successful Semester Switch

We are excited for the new academic year and want to help you prepare your Trac application for the new semester, with this week's Newsletter.

You’ll find that it is filled with new information, helpful hints and tips, and even some new feature that you can explore.  We want this newsletter to be valuable for you so please, share your feedback and as always please let us know if you have any questions.

An important note: Your imports contain student registrations specific to a term, the timing between changing your Term Code and importing your registrations is important.

 The First step is to have your IT updated the Student and Course Files to your server or the SFTP site

• If it is for the first time or have made any changes to the files then IT will need to send Redrock a sample file to create or update your import script.

The Second step, Change the Term Number

• As a SysAdmin- Go to the Trac Navigation -> Tracman Icon -> Utilities and Prefs -> System Prefs Tab -> CurrentTerm -> Change to the new term number -> Save.

  • The term number will always be in numeric format (i.e 201910, 1910)

The Third step, Change Semester Dates

• As a SysAdmin- Go to the Trac Navigation -> Tracman Icon -> Utilities and Prefs -> System Prefs Tab -> SemesterStart/ SemesterEnd -> Change to the new semester start and end date -> Save.
  • SemesterStart/ SemesterEnd date format is MM/DD/YYYY

The Fourth step, Run the import

• As a SysAdmin- Go to the Trac Navigation -> Tracman Icon -> Utilities and Prefs -> Custom Utility -> Standard -> Import Student Data -> Execute.
• To view the status of you import, click on View Import Status -> click on Execute -> this will display if it has completed.

The Fifth step is to Globally Activate Sections

• As a Center Profile Admin- Go to the Trac Navigation -> Search Glass -> Center Profile -> click on your Profile -> Sections Tab -> List Options -> Activate These…

  • That will check the box to the left of the Section Term ID

The Sixth step is to Activate Sections per Subcenter

• You have two options to add the sections to your subcenter.
  • First Option is to add ALL the sections to ALL Subcenters. As a Center Profile Admin- Go to the Trac Navigation -> Search Glass -> Center Profile -> click on your Profile -> Sections Tab -> List Options -> Click on Subcenter Activation -> Choose 'activate' or 'deactivate' and select the centers for which you would like add the all the sections to -> click on Continue.
  • Second Option is to add designated sections to a specific Subcenter. As a Center Profile Admin- Go to the Trac Navigation -> Search Glass -> Center Profile -> click on your Profile -> Sections Tab -> Subcenter Options -> Click on the subcenter name -> Check box in the middle box to activate the sections one by one.

*Following option one or two will check the box to the right of the Section Term ID*

The next steps are optional since your center may or may not utilize these preferences

• Consultant Specialties
  • As a Center Profile Admin to add new sections or manually to your consultants- Go to the Trac Navigation -> Search Glass -> Center Profile -> Click on your Profile -> Consultants Tab -> Select consultants name-> Section Specialties Tab -> Search for the sections the consultant can meet with a student -> Check box to activate the sections -> Save.

• As a SysAdmin to copy the consultant specialties from previous term to the new term- Go to the Trac Navigation -> Tracman Icon -> Utilities and Prefs -> Custom Utility -> Standard -> Copy Specialties -> Add the previous Term and the current term -> Execute.

• Reset Center Status
  • First Step as a SysAdmin - Go to the Trac Navigation -> Tracman Icon -> Utilities and Prefs -> Custom Utility -> Standard -> Reset Center Status/Missed -> Check the boxes “Reset Total Missed Count” and “Set Center Status to (leave blank)”-> Execute.

• Second Step as a Center Profile Admin - Go to the Trac Navigation -> Search Glass -> Center Profile  -> Click on you Profile -> Prefs Tab -> Scheduling Tab -> change the date in “Student max missed:” -> Save.

• Third Step as a SysAdmin - Go to the Trac Navigation -> Search Glass -> Students  -> Search for “Inactive” Students -> Trac Navigation -> Tracman Icon -> Utilities and Prefs ->  Change Value -> Field: “Special Status”-> Value: (Blank) or Active -> Execute.

• Other Settings  - Max Appointment Rule
  • As a Center Profile Admin - Go to the Trac Navigation -> Search Glass -> Center Profile  -> Click on your Profile -> Prefs Tab -> Scheduling Tab -> Max Appointment Rules -> Update any date that is using the preference -> Save.

• Other Settings  - Other Scheduling Block
  • As a Center Profile Admin - Go to the Trac Navigation -> Search Glass -> Center Profile  -> Click on your Profile -> Prefs Tab -> Scheduling Tab -> Other Scheduling Block -> Update any date that is using the preference -> Save.

More Questions?

We hope that you find this newsletter helpful and as always if you have any questions on this or any other features, please feel free to let us by emailing Helpdesk@go-redrock.com or submitting a ticket.  Enter any comments below.

Thank you for your continued support!

Do you wonder if your staff has all the access they need in the Trac System to help book appointments or log students in? Or if your consultants have too much access to student information?

With the “Login As User” feature you can log in as any account in the Trac System to confirm their setting are correct or even help troubleshoot an issue from their point of view without requiring a password!

In this week’s Newsletter we will discuss how to use the “Log in As User” feature in your Trac System.

First you will need to be a System Administrator and you will need the username of the user you want to log in as to see the Trac System from their perspective. To access the “Login As User” feature, go to the Trac Navigation > Tracman Icon > Utilities and Prefs > Custom Utility Tab > Advanced > Login as User > in the ‘User Type’ select one of the following:

*Student

*Consultant

*Faculty

*User

Now in the ‘User Login’ > enter the Username > then click “Execute.”

Now you will be signed out of your System Administrator account and sign in as the user, in this example we are going to be signed in as a Student and the students name will appear in the browsers tab at the top.

Custom Student Fields

With the new semester fast approaching, we’re all looking for ways to make things a bit easier. Custom Student Fields can help!

What are Custom Student Fields?

Custom Student Fields are customizable fields that can store student related data. There are nine available Custom fields for Students that may be used for any purpose.

What can I do with Custom Student Fields?

The sky’s the limit! Whether you’d like to be able to see if your students are Veterans, or maybe you just want to see if they live on campus, it can be done! Custom Fields can also be used for Reporting, and can be imported from your existing Student Information System.

Setting Up Custom Fields

1.First, as a SysAdmin, navigate to Utilities and Prefs (TracMan Icon -> Utilities and Prefs)

2.Next, navigate to the System Prefs Tab, and in the search bar, type in “Custom”. You’ll see a setting called “CustomStudentFields”, click on this.

3. Finally, enter your custom fields and values into the window provided. All “choices” should have no spaces before or after, and each option should be on its own line.

Reporting with Custom Fields

Many of our reports can use Student Custom Fields as parameters!

Note: Custom Field Names display as “Student Custom #” in reports, so be sure to remember which fields do what!

Importing Custom Fields

Custom Fields can be used during the Import process as well! Using data from your Student Information System (Banner, PeopleSoft, DataTel, etc.) custom values can be imported into TutorTrac for placement in the Custom Fields!

Note: Redrock will need to update your school’s import script in order to use Custom Fields. Please format the Import files according to our field definitions:

http://wiki.go-redrock.com/wiki/Student_Import_Fields

More Questions?

We hope that you find this newsletter helpful as always and if you have any questions regarding this or any other features, please feel free to let us know by emailing Helpdesk@go-redrock.com or submitting a ticket through the Helpdesk.

Thank you for your continued support!